The spatial evolution of the Mid-western pork industry, 1835–1875

Abstract

This article discusses the spatial evolution of Mid-western pork packing in the middle nineteenth century as an example of the way in which agricultural processing industries contributed to regional economic development. The changing transportation network provides an essential tool of analysis in understanding manufacturing trends in an area which was simultaneously experiencing extensive and intensive growth. A widespread dispersion of small centres catering to local demand persisted throughout the period, but declined in relative importance. Early concentration of packing was located in the Ohio River towns which were transhipment points for western farm produce on its way to external markets. The advent of railroads in the late 1840s and the 1850s initially widened the agricultural hinterland of the river ports by acting as feeder links. But as rails shipped an increasing proportion of hogs and pork products both within and beyond the region in the 1850s, rail termini became more important as processing centres. The interruption of the Civil War confirmed the ascendancy of the railroad. Then in the post-bellum decade, as settlement continued to move west, pork packing became more dependent on the rail network. A few large cities, drawing on their commercial and financial infrastructure, were able to control much of the industry through extending rails, building central stockyards and improving packing house organization. By the mid 1870s the industry stood on the verge of big business—a testimony to the economic growth of the region where it flourished.